The Great Escape

AN: Thank you to CrazyWWEFreakJNH, xTwistedxImperfectionx, HappySmiler, Chain Gang Princess, RKO.I.F, xHalosandwings, Cena-Wilson-Crazy, justbornawsome, VolcomStoneBabe, Melissa Cristina & TJ Sparkles for reviewing the last chapter.

Thanks very muchly :)

Chapter Eighteen – Boyfriend Stealer?

MARIA

The promise of Halloween was around the corner and the students on campus, despite pretending to act mature about it, were looking forward to the national day. Decorations were already being placed in the halls and dorms, an obeying glittery array of black and orange, to remind everyone of the excitement of it all; it was impossible to ignore October 31st, where everyone who was anyone was planning out their costumes – and the small size of them – depending on which party they intended on going to.

Amongst the throng of chatty students was Maria, who quite literally had a spring in her step as she shuffled through the crowd, trying to make it back to her dorm in a faster pace than the relaxed walking going on around her.

Halloween had always been a special time for her—ever since she was six and managed, in her pretty-in-pink ballerina costume, to be the only child of her Trick-and-Treaters group to walk up a long path and collect candy from a 'haunted' house. She looked back on that day admiringly, and liked to think it was then that her confidence kicked in.

And now here she was many years later, channelling her inner child with the excited grin on her red-painted lips.

When she finally reached her room, flushed in hot red, she was surprised to find two more people than Eve there. She smiled politely at Mike, who looked particularly uncomfortable for some reason, and then turned to Randy. Her lips predictably curved more and his contagious half-smirk was offered in return.

"They arrived about two minutes after you left," explained Eve, who was dressed in casual jeans and a silver slip dress. She'd clearly been halfway through changing into her costume before the interruption. "Why did it take you so long to collect your outfit?"

"Oh, it took forever for me to find my student ID card and then I realized it was in my jacket pocket rather than my purse...and then, yeah..."

Randy chuckled as she trailed off. "I can just imagine the chaos you caused."

"Mhm." She agreed enthusiastically. "But anyway, here it is!" The black clothing bag she held up a beat later revealed nothing of her attire, but she still squealed excitedly anyway. "I'm so excited for the party – is it wrong of me to act like a little kid when I'm a college student?"

"It's cute. I just hope you're not dressing up as the same character as Michelle; every year she has this thing...and OCD issue if you will...and she hates when someone has the same costume as her."

"Probably doesn't care for the spotlight being taken away from her." Eve, midway through adjusting her dress, with The Miz averting his gaze to anybody but her, looked to find the other two staring back at her. "Look, I'm sorry but I really don't like your girlfriend."

"That's cool – not everyone gets along." He shrugged. "Michelle's...different; mature-like and it isn't easy for two personalities to—"

"Yeah, I appreciate that you're sticking up for her. It's sweet. But I just think that she's a manipulative bitch."

Smiling nervously, Maria attempted to push the conversation back towards the party, and made a mental note to talk to Eve later in the meanwhile. There was something going on with her best friend and she wanted to know what; to act so cranky and disloyal meant that, whatever the issue was, it was big.

"So who are you going to dress as for tonight?" Both guys mumbled nothing in-particular and she rolled her eyes playfully. "I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Gosh, lazy much?"

"Hey, just because we don't spend every day checking our outfits in the mirror..."

At Randy's smirk, she stuck her tongue out playfully. "Whatever. I—"

But she was then interrupted, as a familiar rap of knocks made contact to the already open door, and Jeff slipped into the room. He offered a friendly wave to everyone by way of greeting but was caught off-guard by a bone-crushing hug a moment later.

Maria was giddy as she wrapped her arms around his waist tightly, fitting perfectly into his leaner frame and breathing in his familiar scent. "Hey Jeff! You'll never guess what I'm going to the party as tonight..."

"Cannot...breathe..." She loosened her grip, apologizing profusely, and he let out a sigh of relief. "And as long as it's not the same costume as last year, I don't mind."

"Just because I made you shriek girlishly in front of your friends."

"And thanks for telling—" Pausing mid-sentence, he pulled the redhead in closer and whispered into her ear, "Can I talk to you in the hallway for a quick sec?"

Surprised, she nodded and made her excuses to everyone else. Her friend looked a little distressed by the time she reached him, and she folded her arms in concern.

Jeff grabbed at the chance to speak first and got straight to the point. "Randy thinks there's something going on between us – and he's jealous of that."

For a moment all she could do was blink – the nature of this sudden statement was simply absurd; there had been rumours about their friendship, yes, but none of the sort that involved her crush.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're crazy."

"I'm really not. The second you hugged me, I saw him glare; it was only for a second but it was definitely there."

"You're a very artistic person, Jeff," she clutched at his cheeks with warm hands, "but there is no way that happened. He has a girlfriend, Michelle."

"Please don't tell me—" He started, only to pause to remove her hands from his face. She was terribly touchy-feely when she wanted to be. But then again, that was part of her charm. "—that I'm the only one who sees the lack of...well, anything between them. They're horrible together."

"I respect your opinion but I don't agree – they're adorable! And maybe you're just seeing this; we're just friends, also."

"Yes, everyone who knows us knows about our friendship, but other people have asked if we've got a thing for each other, even though they're aware of my relationship with Candice."

She twisted her lips in contemplation for a moment. "Really?"

He chuckled in response. "You really are naive, aren't you? And I'm not just 'seeing this'. It's not a trick of the mind – Randy is jealous."

A feeling, unstoppable and much like joy, tingled in her stomach as she imagined a look of bitter jealousy on the dark-haired guy's handsome features. The image was strong in her mind yet sensitive, and she savoured the moment guiltily.

But it was half a minute later that she straightened out, rolling her eyes at her friend. "Well," she looked to end their conversation, "I don't believe you. Now, please, can we go back in and think about the party tonight? I know it's going to be amazing."

"Sure." He smiled weakly but grabbed her hand at the last minute, pulling her back to him. "Just please...look out for signs, would you? You don't seem to know when you're in trouble and I don't want to see you get hurt."

Annoyed by everyone's advice to her but touched by his concern, Maria nodded. "Of course."

As he was dragged back into her dorm room, Jeff took into account the other three profiles; Randy did indeed cast a wary glance at his hand in Maria's, Mike was strangely quiet and Eve seemed unusually moody for her character.

It seemed everybody had a secret that only he could see and his poor, poor red-headed friend was oblivious to all of this.

Popular party tunes infiltrated the frat house, reminding the four girls of their very first outing as college students. It seemed like such a long time ago since that day but every dramatic detail of it was being dragged up, and then promptly blocked out.

Tonight was going to be a fun night.

Ashley, for one, laughed to herself as she led the way into the busy – but less crowded – kitchen from the party room. For a change the blonde had made an effort with her appearance and added a gruesome twist to the playboy bunny look; blood, fake of course, trickled down her revealing bra-and-panties ensemble while straightened honey locks cascaded perfectly down her back. Her make-up was, to no surprise to her friends, heavily gothic, with dark eye-liner and lipstick.

"Check out all the guys eyeing you up tonight." Mickie nudged her lightly, wearing a smile of her own as she grabbed another drink for herself. "You're a hit."

"Mhm." Eve, who was chewing on her fake teeth, nodded. "I'd totally go lesbian for you."

"...Great." Ashley remarked, somewhat freaked out by the comment. "But no way is any guy getting my attention tonight—Halloween is my favourite time of year and it's not going to be ruined."

Her best friend rolled her eyes at this. Unlike the corpse bunny beside her, the brunette had covered up a little more with black hot pants and a plain white tank top. Her hair was tied in a long loose plait and two fake toy guns were held tightly in her hands, giving off that Lara Croft vibe.

Eve, having read a little too much of the Twilight series recently, looked sexy as a vampire. She'd used a tonne of white body paint – generously donated by Jeff – to perfect her dark look, but a shimmery silver slip dress, the one she had tried on earlier, brought out the party girl in her.

"I hear," Maria grinned as she leaned against a counter, "that Adam came dressed as a pimp. In some strange way, you guys match."

Ashley offered a glare. "I need alcohol. Anyone want to join me?"

"I will," said Eve all too willingly. "That idea sounds good right about now."

The two paired off and weaved through the crowd, leaving Maria to toss her vibrant curls behind her and glance in Mickie's direction. They certainly looked like an odd couple – she, designed as an innocent (yet somewhat slutty) angel complete with halo, standing beside Lara Croft.

She looked down at her fluffy, white slippers briefly. "I hope my feet don't get stepped on tonight."

"Mhm, me either," replied the video game hero but she wasn't even looking in the right direction. "That would be a shame."

Sensing something odd, she gazed at her friend again and found herself following her gaze a moment later. Her eyes came to rest on a familiar figure, who was slouching over in the corner with Jeff. "So what's going on with you and Phil anyway? Ash told me you broke up with him or something."

"I suppose you could say that. Although," she shrugged sadly, "we weren't really together so..."

As her friend trailed off, she quickly picked up the pace of conversation. She felt rather sorry for the petite girl, who looked full of longing as she stared at her ex-boyfriend. "Of course you were together – it was obvious to practically everyone. So c'mon, tell me why you're not anymore."

"I just..." Finally, Mickie turned, picking at her half-full plastic cup. Her brown eyes were sensitive, as were her hushed tones. "I don't know anything about him. And it's fine to have fun with someone else – or at least start off that way – but that's not me. It's not who I am. I like to know the person who I'm dating before anything serious happens."

"You guys were serious?"

"No, but I wanted to be. I started wondering whether he was on the same wavelength as me...and that's when it hit me; I really don't know much about the guy."

"So you broke up with him?"

Another shrug lifted Mickie's shoulders. "It seemed like the logical idea at the time. But I never thought I'd be this hurt over the decision—I don't usually spend much time obsessing over guys and now here I am, acting pathetically."

"Oh stop," smiled Maria softly as she glanced around, spotting Layla and the French girl, Maryse, who Michelle used to share a room with. Her attention re-focused on the issue at hand. "This is not acting pathetically – acting pathetically would be to recite everything he ever told you and convince yourself that it was your fault that you're not together anymore. Remember when I did that? Pretty desperate times, I must say."

"Yes but this time it is my fault." An interruption was coming but the brunette cut her off swiftly, holding up a hand. "It's okay, Maria. I just need some time to myself for now. Thanks for the talk anyway; I love you for caring, girly."

The redhead was a little miffed in herself as she watched her friend stumble away; it hurt to know that there was little she could do to help shake her out of this light depression. A sunny atmosphere, as far as she was concerned, was always the best atmosphere and there was always a silver lining to be considered...

But apparently not tonight, not for Mickie James.

"Didn't anyone tell you, Maria? You were supposed to turn up in a costume." A familiar voice whispered into her ear, tickling her sensations ever so softly. "The only thing that's different about you now is the halo. Funny how I hadn't spotted it hovering over your head before."

She barely had time to register the compliment as Randy moved around, lightly brushing his hand around her waist as he did so. Her cheeks were a pinched red and, unfortunately, a gesture she couldn't hide from him.

"Seriously, you look beautiful." He continued when she failed to return a comment of her own. His smirk widened that little bit more. "And what do you think of mine?"

"You're, uh..." She found her voice at last, and then glanced up and down his body in utter confusion. "You're dressed like you normally would be."

"As are half the guys here." The student chuckled, leaning against the counter behind him. "I'm not that much of a Halloween supporter to be honest with you."

"Oh, I love it!" Maria's eyes widened with excitement as she joined him, suddenly aware of the small gap between their arms. She felt his warmth beside her and tried with all her might not to do anything about it. "Ever since I was a little girl—"

"—dressed as a ballerina, and you walked up to a supposedly haunted house. I know, Maria, you told me a while ago." At her look of surprise, he settled for a smile. "I've remembered everything you've told me since the first time we met. You've got quite a mouth on you, you know that?"

By now, she felt herself go weak at the knees and, if it were physically possible, melt into a puddle of goo at his very feet. He was a handsome young guy – as her mother would probably say – but in this very moment, with his romantic words, he was downright sexy.

"So," she cleared her throat, "Where's Michelle?" It was probably better to stick to the subject of his girlfriend – and her friend – rather than trust her own thoughts.

"Oh, she's gone back to her room. Some other girl was dressed as a devil, just like her, and apparently this was unacceptable." He told her matter-of-factly, and she could have sworn to have seen him roll his eyes a moment later. "She's in a mood now."

"Shouldn't you go and comfort her then? This isn't very boyfriend-like of you."

"Trust me when I say it's better if I stay here. I know when to leave her alone, especially if she's in a mood...besides," he brightened quickly, "now I get to stay here with an angel. Does it get any better than that?"

She didn't trust herself to reply, fearing that a flirty reply would be given, and only smiled politely as she pretended to look around the room. Jeff caught her attention for a brief moment, reminding her of their conversation earlier that day, but she quickly shook her head and turned back to the main attraction.

"Look. I hope you don't mind me asking," began Randy hesitantly and she gave him her undivided attention, "But is something going on with you and Jeff?"

At once, she widened her eyes. "God, no! He's with Candice. Didn't you know?"

"Well yes, I remembered that from when you introduced him..."

...

"So this is Jeff." She practically shoved him into the circle of students. "He's my best friend's boyfriend's brother."

Randy raised an eyebrow. "Uh...wow, but hey, nice to meet you man."

...

"...But even then, I had my suspicions about you. Forgive me for thinking you would have an affair, especially when Candice is a close friend of yours, but—"

Quite frankly, Maria was upset with him, and chose to move away from his words. She nodded mutely at his explanation but didn't really take it in – instead she was thinking about how many other people had this exact same opinion of her.

The idea was horrible.

"I'm really not a boyfriend stealer," she blurted out, disrupting him, "Jeff is one of my closest friends and I'd never do that. We're just friends. And sure, I might have a little bit of a crush on you but that doesn't mean I'd do anything about it. I mean, Michelle is one of my dear friends and I really like her. You guys are cute together too. And you've been together since—"

"Wait," he cut her off softly, and stared down at her worried face intently, "You have feelings for me?"

Realizing that her thoughts had been processed into words to be said out loud, she clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening now more than ever. Oh God, what have I done?

His expression didn't give anything away – he was still staring at her with an intent look, waiting for her to answer.

The fear of being rejected, of being told they couldn't be friends anymore, was too much to bear and she pulled a Mickie James, running off at the speed of light.

So there's the next chapter. Please review :)

Up next is Mickie's chapter.